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Copy 1 



WALTER LENOX, THE THIRTEENTH MAYOR 
OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTON 



Bt ALLEN C. CLARK 



Records of The Columbia Historical Society, Vol. XX, 1917 



[Reprinted from The Records of The Columbia Historical Society, 
Vol. 20, 1917.] 



WALTER LENOX, THE THIRTEENTH MAYOR 
OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTON. 

By ALLEN C. CLARK. 
(Read before the Society, May 16, 1916.) 

"His honor, the Mayor," was Walter Lenox titled; he 
was the thirteenth in the mayoral line. It is not neces- 
sary to tax the imagination to create a personage to 
dignifiedly bow to the salutation ; for Walter Lenox has 
a counterpart in the facial lineaments even to the cut 
of the beard in the novelist, Charles Dickens. Walter's 
American ancestry were father and grandsire. The 
primal ancestor came from Scotland and settled in 
Williamsburg, Virginia, at the time the seat of the royal 
government. 

Walter Lenox, the grandfather, married Miss Carter, 
of Williamsburg. Of their children was Peter, born 
in the city named, 1771. The father lost most of his 
fortune consequent to the war of the American Revo- 
lution, 1 and Peter, about 1802, came to the federal seat of 
government to find his fortune. He married Miss Mar- 
garet Wilkinson ; they had a family fortune of thirteen 
children. 

Peter Lenox was the foreman and then the Clerk of 
Works at the President's House. He was the Clerk of 
Works 2 at the Capitol from October 31, 1817, to 1829. 
He had a lumber business and was early engaged in the 

1 Peter was ambitious of a liberal education. He had no patrimony. 
He acquired the means of support for a few years. He entered the 
public schools of Richmond. He was forced to relinquish his design 
because of feeble strength and engage in active employment. 

2 In the City Directory ' ' Chief Carpenter. ' ' 

T67 



1 68 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

building activities. The profit lie progressively in- 
vested in realty and on the tax ledgers ultimately op- 
posite his name were many squares and lots. 

Peter Lenox was a lawmaker. Alternately and in- 
termittently he sat in the local House of Lords and 
House of Commons. Of the First Chamber, 1804; of 
the Second Chamber, 1806, 1807; of the First, 1808; of 
the Second, 1810, 1811; of the First, 1812, 1813; of the 
Board of Aldermen, consecutively from 1826 to 1831, 
inclusive. 

Peter Lenox laid aside the compass, the spirit-level 
and the saw, the emblems and implements of his peace- 
ful crafts, and buckled on the sword when his country 
called for arms in 1812 and he was commissioned a Cap- 
tain. 

Peter Lenox lived until late in life on the south side 
of Maryland avenue near the Washington Bridge and 
at the corner of Tenth and E streets, northwest. He 
died at the first-named residence, Monday, December 
3, 1832. He was accorded Masonic honors under the 
auspices of the Federal Lodge No. 1. Of him it is 
written: "By nature he was endowed with a high order 
of intellect, and had he been placed in circumstances 
favorable to its cultivation, he would have held a dis- 
tinguished rank among the first men of our country. 
He had uncommon strength and precision of judgment; 
was prompt and energetic in action, and in every thing 
manifested decision of character. In all his trans- 
actions of life he sustained the character of a punctual, 
honest man. ' ' His portrait has him as a large man of 
intellectual caste, with the compass and the other in- 
struments of his livelihood. His wife's portrait pic- 
tures her as a beautiful woman with a lovely child in 
arms— her thirteenth. His will, probated December 11, 
1832, disposes of a large estate and attests his belief in 



Gift 

Author 

3CT 20 »2fi 



Col. Hist. Soc, Vol. XX, Pl. IX. 




Walter Lenox. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 169 

the advantages of a higher education in this provision : 
"It is my desire that my two sons, William A. and 
Walter, shall pursue their classical and other studies 
and receive the best Collegiate education that the Coun- 
try can afford" and made a charge upon the estate for 
the education and a maintenance until twenty-one years 
of age. 3 

Walter Lenox was born in the city of Washington, 
August 17, 1817. He was a bachelor of arts, Yale, 1837. 
His name appears in the city directory of 1843 as a 
lawyer with an office at the south side of Louisiana 
avenue between Four and a Half and Sixth streets and 
another office at the corner of Tenth and C streets, east 
side. In the directories of 1846, 1850 and 1853, he is at 
the corner of Louisiana avenue and Sixth street. In 
the directories of 1858 and 1860, his office is at 49 
Louisiana avenue and his residence 376 E street, north. 

Says Douglass Zevely in "Old Residences about City 
Hall," Records of the Columbia Historical Society, 
Vol. 7, p. 158: 

"Diagonally across from the police court (corner of Louisi- 
ana avenue, 6th and D streets) was where Walter Lenox lived 
for many years. . . . During some of the time he and Richard 
Wallach had a bachelor housekeeping home there. 

"The Lenox house was a plain brick dwelling with a large 
yard on the east side surrounded by a low stone wall which 
was quite well shaded by the large trees in the yard and I 
can distinctly remember how often that wall served as a rest- 
ing place for many persons during summer days. During 
recent years buildings for stores and offices have been erected 
where the yard was formerly, and the house has been changed 
also for similar purposes, so that no trace of it is left." 

I am told by a relative that Mr. Lenox gave pleasant 
ladies ' parties when he and Mr. Wallach kept bachelors ' 

s Interred in Congressional Cemetery. 



17° Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

hall, that the house faced south, was built with small 
dark brick and provided with porticoes and was shaded 
by large trees. 

"With grave 
Aspect lie rose, and in his rising seem'd 
A Pillar of State; deep as his front engraven 
Deliberation sat, and public Care; 
And princely counsel on his face shone 
Majestic." 

That is Milton's statesman. Mr. Lenox was a states- 
man. He sat at a desk except when he was up to make 
or to debate a motion ; to offer or to discuss a resolution. 
He had concern for the entire community and a par- 
ticular care for his own constituency. Although the 
votes were counted and his reelection was assured, he 
listened interestedly to the constituent who deemed 
himself the most qualified and most entitled to serve 
the city in a certain capacity for a certain compensa- 
tion. Mr. Lenox was not like the politicians. 

"When they're afraid, they're wondrous good and free; 
But when they're safe they have no memory." 

— Sir R. Howard: Vestal Virgin. 

Mr. Lenox was a Common Councilman, 1842 and 1843 ; 
and an Alderman, 1844 to 1849, inclusive. The last 
three years he was the presiding officer. 

An ' ' Old Member of the City Councils, ' ' June 1, 1850, 
pleads for Mr. Lenox's election to the Mayorship in 
the vein of Pitt, in his defense of the American colo- 
nies. ' ' Sir;— the atrocious crime of being a young man, 
which the honorable gentleman has, with such spirit 
and decency, charged upon me, I shall not attempt to 
palliate nor deny— but ..." But to the Old Member's 
pleading: "It is objected that Mr. Lenox is too young, 
but he has not been deemed too young by his associates 
in the Board of Aldermen, who have twice selected him 
as its President, which position itself, in certain con- 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 17 l 

tingencies, imposed upon him the duties of Mayor. 
Let it not be forgotten that youth carries with it energy 
of character, and ambition to come up to the discharge 
of duty and obligation. It has the future to look to 
which, shutting out the past, provokes a generous 
effort to prove worthy of the confidence with which it 
may be honored. Having considered what is due to 
past services, and what may be expected from a gen- 
erous ambition appreciating public confidence, I feel 
myself called upon to give my cordial support to Mr. 
Lenox. ' ' 

Mr. Lenox was the logical inheritor of the mayoralty. 
Mr. Seaton had declined reelection. Mr. Lenox was 
the President of the Board of Aldermen; he had as- 
sisted the mayor ; he was of the same party. The con- 
test was heated. Each voter knew that on his favorite 
depended solely the life of the city and his candidate 's 
rivals were political quacks. The election was on Mon- 
day, June 3, 1850. The committee's count was 

Jesse E. Dow 379 George Watterston 29 

Roger C. Weightman 1,302 William Gunton 13 

Walter Lenox 1,334 

Mr. Lenox was inaugurated the Monday following. 
His address was well received. The citizens who did 
not vote for Mr. Lenox accepted what they could not 
avoid and with the citizens who did vote for him, called 
upon him "to pay their respects and partake of his hos- 
pitality. ' ' 

Mr. Lenox was of the Board of Managers of the 
Washington National Monument Society. He was an 
incorporator. His name is of the "Inscription on Cop- 
per Plate Covering Deposit-Recess in the Corner 
Stone of the Monument." With Gen. Archibald Hen- 
derson and Commodore M. F. Maury, U. S. N., he was 
of the Committee of Arrangement for the laying of the 
corner stone, Independence Day, 1848. 



172 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

Ko'bert C. Wintkrop was the orator. In nineteen 
closely printed pages is the eloquent declamation. 

"Proceed, then, fellow-citizens, with the work for which 
you have assembled ! Lay the corner stone of a monument 
which shall adequately bespeak the gratitude of the whole 
American people to the illustrious Father of his Country! 
Build it to the skies ; you can not outreach the loftiness of his 
principles ! Found it upon the massive and eternal rocks ; 
you can not make it more enduring than his fame ! Construct 
it of the peerless Parian marble ; you can not make it purer 
than his life ! Exhaust upon it the rules and principles of 
ancient and of modern art; you can not make it more pro- 
portionate than his character ! ' ' 

Other important parts of the proceedings on this 
memorable occasion have not so much emphatic men- 
tion, for instance, in the order of parade, the 

Boston Light Guaeds, Captain Claek. 

It was the only military organization from a distance. 
It was the escort of the orator of the day. That the 
Captain, Captain George Clark, Jun., was an uncle of 
mine, does not detract from his glory. The guards 
were a crack affair. That day, that red-hot day, up 
Pennsylvania avenue, in their beautiful uniforms with 
plumed shakos, evenly and proudly, marched the 
Guards. The Captain, at the head, covered with deco- 
ration and dust, his sword hand to shoulder, marched 
forward, and now and then, as all Captains do, marched 
backward with imminent risk of tripping up and stab- 
bing himself. 

On the national anniversary, 1850, was the second 
notable occasion. More than a thousand assembled on 
the awninged stage ; of whom was the President of the 
United States, Cabinet Officers, Senators and Members 
of Congress and members of the Boards of Aldermen 
and Common Council. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 173 

"Walter Lenox, Esq., Mayor of the City, read the 
Declaration of Independence in a clear and impressive 
manner." The Hon. Henry S. Foote, of Mississippi, 
for an honr was the eloquent orator of the day. 

Then the ceremony of raising to its proper position 
in the Monument the handsome block of marble pre- 
sented by the Corporation of Washington. Gen. Walter 
Jones made the presentation in "an impromptu ad- 
dress of great power and beauty, which was admitted 
by all who heard it to be one of the most masterly ex- 
temporaneous efforts of that distinguished gentleman. ' ' 

The reporter noticed that George W. P. Custis, Esq., 
delivered his address in "his usual and affecting man- 
ner" and that he "touchingly and delicately referred 
to a box containing earth from the great monumental 
mound in Cracow, in Poland, reared to the memory of 
the brave Kosciusko." Mr. Custis placed a part of 
this earth on the Washington block to enter into the 
cement which should bind it in the monument to the 
Pater Patriae. 

Within a week of this anniversary, Zachary Taylor, 
the President, died. Mayor Lenox sent a message to 
the Councils "expressive of the high respect enter- 
tained for the character, both public and private, of the 
deceased," and issued a proclamation recommending 
that the citizens abstain from secular employment. 

The exercises of Independence Day, 1851, are most 
memorable. The earlier procession and proceedings 
were connected with the Washington Monument. 
President Fillmore with characteristic dignity for the 
Board of Managers received the block of marble pre- 
sented by the Sons of Temperance of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania. Gen. Walter Jones was the 
orator and advanced the claims of the temperance 
cause as one of the chief virtues of every patriotic, well- 
regulated community. 



174 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

The second procession and proceedings were con- 
nected with the laying of the corner stone to the exten- 
sion of the Capitol. In the large Council Chamber in 
the City Hall assembled the President of the United 
States, the Members of the Cabinet, Officers of the 
Army and Navy in full uniform, the Mayor and mem- 
bers of the Corporation, and various civil officers, to 
take their assigned places. The procession entered the 
north gate of the Capitol grounds and was drawn up 
in order around the excavation for the corner stone. 
The President of the United States, attended by the 
Mayor, and as many others as the limited space would 
accommodate, occupied the site of the contemplated 
edifice. 

During the reign of Lenox, the daily newspapers 
were The Daily Globe, Daily National Intelligencer, 
The Daily Republic, The Washington Union. Some of 
these had weekly and semi-weekly editions. Of the 
weekly publications were The Huntress, edited and 
published by the virulent, Mrs. Anne Royal, and The 
National Era, by Gamaliel Bailey, in the cause of abo- 
lition. 

The daily papers of Anno Domini 1916 circulated 
from metropolitan centers are no less anxious and alert 
than the weekly paper of the town to keep the readers 
informed of things of importance and nothing, so says 
B. P. Shillaber, the biographer of Mrs. Partington, as 
important as "the painting of a front door, or the set- 
ting of a pane of glass, or the laying of an egg ,J es- 
capes ; and a newspaper of the District of Columbia 
on Thanksgiving Day, 1915, in a late edition had the 
bulletin: "The White House turkey will be placed in 
the oven at 4.30 o'clock so that it may cook slowly." 

The newspapers during Mr. Lenox's administration 
did not have as much paper as those of nowadays but 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 17 S 

nevertheless were not neglectful of important news as 
illustrated in the Daily National Intelligencer, March 
23, 1851: "The morning train of cars, which usually 
arrive in this city from Baltimore about 11 o'clock, did 
not reach the depot until one o'clock yesterday. We 
understand the detention was caused by the breaking 
of the engine when the train was about seven miles 
distant from Baltimore." 

Literature was respected. Mrs. Southworth, of our 
midst, was the authoress whose works were most popu- 
lar and welcome. When the weekly came with the next 
installment of thrill our mothers were not content until 
they had read it all, even if the teakettle cracked, the 
potatoes burned or the roast scorched. The Daily Na- 
tional Intelligencer, June 9, 1851, advises the public 
that "Mrs. Southworth, the authoress of "Retribu- 
tion," " Shannondale, " "The Deserted Wife," has a 
new work entitled "The Children of the Isle," which 
is said by the critics who have read it to be the best of 
her works. 

The chief charitable organization was the Ladies' 
Union Benevolent Employment Society. It was non- 
sectarian. A call of The Committee of Gentlemen for 
the annual meeting to be held at Rev. John C. Smith's 
church, 9th street, November 15, 1850, gives the names 
of committeemen. Walter Lenox is chairman and with 
the others the most influential in the community se- 
lected without distinction of Christian creed. For the 
Society at Odd Fellows Hall, November 11, Wyman 
gave the proceeds of an exhibition. Prof. Wyman was 
a prestidigitator "most profound in his art" and his 
feats in legerdermain have never been excelled. 

Naught of church history has come to me. I can have 
reason to think that all the sects were in harmonious 
rivalry to teach the first and great commandment and 



176 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

the second like unto it— the love of God and the love of 
neighbor. I can believe there was a mutual helpful- 
ness, at least, to the extent that mankind with its frailty 
will permit. Did not the Protestant preacher solicit 
of a Catholic priest a church donation and did not 
Father Matthew quickly reply: "What, a heretic ask a 
Catholic for a donation ! No, I will do nothing of the 
sort; but here is ten dollars towards a pavement in 
front of your church so I will not get my boots muddy 
when I pass by it!" 

I did find that an elder (Knapp, of Boston), of long 
prayer, says: "When Peter was endeavoring to walk 
upon the water to meet his Master, and was about sink- 
ing, had his supplications been so long as the introduc- 
tion to one of our modern prayers, before he got 
through he would have been fifty feet under water. ' ' 

The Adelphi Theatre was on the site of 458 and 460 
Pennsylvania avenue. During the mayoral reign of 
Lenox many stage stars appeared in Washington. One 
at least twinkled here for the first time. The managers 
announced, November 8, 1850, the benefit of Mr. Junius 
Brutus Booth, the greatest American tragedian, in 
which the "First and Only Appearance of Mr. Edwin 
Booth." The review had "Mr. Edwin Booth, a youth 
of sixteen years, played the part of Hemeya in a very 
creditable manner, giving ample evidence that the 
mantle of the father will fall upon the son." This 
Booth engagement was succeeded, November 21, by 
that of Frank Chanfrau and Madame Albertine. In 
turn came Miss Fanny Wallack, December 2. "This 
evening the tragedy of 'Romeo and Juliet' will be per- 
formed at the Adelphi with a strong cast. The patrons 
of that little establishment will be pleased to learn that 
Miss Fanny Wallack will sustain the character of 
Juliet, in which she has been so eminently successful 



Clark: Walter Lenox. iyy 

in all the Northern cities. This young lady has passed 
the ordeal of criticism, having worked her way fairly 
to her present distinction in all the varied walks of the 
drama by close application and study. . . . By the 
way, we must not omit to mention that Miss Wallack 
is a native of this city, which is another inducement for 
receiving her with a full house." Early in 1851, she 
sailed for England. Miss Wallack (Mrs. Charles 
Moorehouse) in Edinburgh, Scotland, made her earthly 
exit, 1850. The great American actor, Edwin Forrest, 
appeared, May 24, 1852, as King Lear. During his en- 
gagement the prices of admission were advanced and 
the free list suspended. 

Came Jenny Lind triumphantly in her first and fare- 
well American tour when Mr. Lenox was Mayor. The 
out-vying homage paid to her by the writers made them 
seek in the dictionaries, the uncommonplace and in the 
books of poetry, the imagery. The admiration and 
adoration were worthily bestowed and had no taint of 
adulation, for her character was as beautiful as her 
talent was supreme. 

In an incredibly short time was rebuilt the hall for 
her appearance in this city, where is now the National 
Theatre. It was the enterprise of two citizens, Edward 
D. Willard and John E. Eeeside. December 11, 1850, 
was the announcement: 

f "Mademoiselle Jenny Lind 

Will give her first Grand Concert in Washington, at the new 
National Hall, on Monday evening, December 16, 1850. The 
price of seats has been fixed at $7, $5, and $4. ' ' 

Mdlle. Lind was a guest of The Willard. She was 
not as in other large cities the victim of rude curiosity. 
I give an excerpt from the account of the first concert 
by Gales and Seaton in The Intelligencer, although they 
did not surmount in superlatives the editorial of 



178 Records of tlie Columbia Historical Society. 

Father Ritchie in The Globe, between whom and "the 
nightingale" was strong attachment. 4 

December 17, 1850. "Mad 'lie Jenny Lind's Concert 
last night was attended by the largest, most brilliant, 
and certainly the most gratified audience which ever 
assembled at any public entertainment in this city. 
Every part of the spacious hall was occupied by eager 
auditors, and, high as anticipation had been raised by 
the superlative repute of the gifted maiden, we doubt 
if an individual of the numerous auditory had formed 
any adequate idea of the enchanting melody, the 'dulcet 
and harmonious breath' of the peerless songstress. . . . 
The audience commenced assembling as early as six 
o'clock, and when at last the appearance of Mad 'lie 
Lind gave a reality the place of pent up expectation, 
she was greeted with a burst of applause which fairly 
shook the stout walls of the building. Silence at length 
restored"— and here the Editors got out their copy of 
Spencer's "Fairie Queen" and copied therefrom. 5 

* Signed her name Jennie Lind in letters to Thomas Ritchie. 

5 "Jenny Lind visited Washington during the winter of 1851, and 
sang in concert to a delighted audience. It chanced that on the evening 
of her appearance several members of the cabinet and Senate were the 
guests at dinner of Bodisco, the Russian minister, and the concert was 
half over when Webster and the other members of the party entered the 
hall. After the applause which greeted their appearance had subsided 
the second part of the concert was opened by Miss Lind with ' Hail ! Co- 
lumbia. ' Webster, deeply moved by this patriotic air, arose at the close 
of the first verse, and added his rich, sonorous voice to the chorus. 
Without avail, his wife, who sat behind him, pulled at his coat-tail to 
make him sit down or stop singing. The volunteer basso joined in at 
the close of each verse, and none could tell whether Lind, Webster or the 
audience was most delighted. As the last notes of the song died away 
Webster arose, hat in hand, and made a profound bow to the singer. 
Jenny Lind, blushing at the honor, courtesied to the floor, while the 
audience applauded to the echo. Webster, not to be outdone in polite- 
ness, bowed again; Lind recourtesied ; the house again applauded; and 
this was repeated nine times. ' ' — Galusha A. Grow, in the Saturday 
Evening Post. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 179 

The enthusiasm at the second (Wednesday) concert 
equalled that of the first. 

Two bus lines educated the passengers in art as they 
carried them luxuriously : 

September 19, 1850. ' ' Pennsylvania avenue wit- 
nessed yesterday a splendid turn-out, in a new and 
beautiful omnibus for the Union Line of the enterpris- 
ing Messrs. Beiside & Vanderwerken, and called the 
Henry Clay. This superb carriage bears an excellent 
portrait of Mr. Clay on each panel, and its interior 
frieze is ornamental with tasteful oil paintings." 

The next day. "Another New Omnibus arrived in 
this city yesterday by the cars for the Citizen's Line. 
It is a handsome and commodious vehicle, and it is 
named the Joseph Gales. ' ' 

On August 8, 1850, Mr. Michael Brady "was honored 
by a visit at his gallery from President Fillmore, of 
whom he made three of his most brilliant and life-like 
daguerreotype likenesses." 

Mr. Lenox was during the mayoralty, ex-officio, a 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution. 

The Daily National Intelligencer says: "The New 
Year (1851) opened yesterday with one of the brightest 
of days, which imparted a heartier gladness to the joy- 
ous feelings of the season." 

And, 1852: "The First of January was indeed a day 
worthy of a new year. The snows and clouds and 
gloom of the preceding week disappeared with the old 
year, and the new one emerged in brightness and 
beauty, imparting cheerfulness to the thousands of 
citizens, strangers; and visiters who during the day 
circulated from one residence to another, exchanging 
the good wishes and enjoying the hospitalities of the day. 
Every where might be observed evidences of the keen 
relish with which the day was enjoyed by our cheerful. 



I So Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

well-to-do population, and by the troops of well-dressed 
strangers of both sexes." 

Nature smiled approval always, so far as appears, on 
the popular and praiseworthy custom. The citizens 
called on the chief citizen of the corporation, chief by 
their choice, cordially shook his hand, sampled his 
punch and to be sure their praise of it was deserved, 
sampled it a few times more and to further prove their 
goodwill, even his forgiving opponents, helped heartily 
to clear the table of everything except dishes and cloth. 

The coming of Louis Kossuth to this country created 
a furore. He, his lady and his suite arrived in the city, 
Sunday, December 30, 1851, and made their quarters at 
Brown's hotel. Three or four hundred persons as- 
sembled in front of the hotel and the Hungarian 
patriot from the portico made an acknowledgment. 
Then the callers came along, the Secretary of State, 
Maj. Col. Scott, Senator Cass and Senator Douglass 
among them. At noon, the next day, M. Kossuth made 
an informal call upon the President. Members of 
Congress of both branches gave him a dinner, January 
7, 1852. A resolution inviting him to the floors of the 
Congress caused a cyclone of debate. 

The Board of Aldermen, January 5 : "Besolved, That 
we have heard with the most lively satisfaction of the 
arrival of Louis Kossuth in the metropolis of the 
nation. That we hail his advent as that of one deeply 
imbued with principles of liberty, and bid him a cordial 
and hearty welcome to our city." As in Washington, 
everywhere, M. Kossuth received the open hand. He 
returned with pockets bulging with resolutions and. 
nothing substantial which might be inconsistent with 
international non-interference. 6 

6 "After Jenny Lind came Louis Kossuth. . . . No foreigner except 
Lafayette has received such a welcome in the United States, and Kossuth 
was worthy of all the honor that was heaped upon him. His handsome 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 181 

During the Lenox mayoral term the feature in con- 
struction was the eastern part of the Patent Office, its 
pure white marble and its correct Corinthian archi- 
tecture making an attractive addition to the govern- 
mental buildings ; and in destruction was the disastrous 
fire at the Library of Congress, consuming thirty-five 
thousand of the more choice volumes together with 
precious manuscripts, paintings, maps, charts, medals 
and statuary. 7 The financial feature was the Columbia 
Bank located on the north side of Pennsylvania avenue 
between 4| and 6th streets— Athenaeum Building 8 (R. 
P. Stowe, President). It was of the wild cat variety. 
Before the National Bank Act, 1863, institutions and 
individuals under the easy laws let loose large amounts 
of bank notes which represented no property other 
than a sign, a counter and a few chairs. The more at- 
tractive the notes, the more easy were they negotiable 
for something. And so the notes were designed with 
pictures and sometimes colored to be more negotiable ; 
some had a cat with a strong face, others a dog of un- 
usual shade. And thus came to be money of different 
names, Wild Cat, Red Dog and Blue Pup, but different 
no other way. It being one kind of money, one name 
came to stand for all, Wild Cat. If a customer offered 
in payment, say a fifty dollar note, the merchant scanned 
the bi-weekly currency bulletin to see what he was get- 
ting; and if the note was worth what it purported, the 

presence, the marble-like paleness of his complexion, caused by hard- 
ship while in prison, and the picturesqueness of his foreign dress capti- 
vated the popular fancy ; while, more than all, his wonderful eloquence 
and the fervor with which he pleaded his country's cause left an influence 
upon the hearts of those who heard him that nothing could destroy. ' ' 
— Galusha A. Grow, in the Saturday Evening Post. 

7 The previous fires were the War Office, the library part of the Capi- 
tol, 1825, the Treasury and the general Post Office. 

s 463 and 465 Pennsylvania Ave. Afterwards Bell 's Photographic 
Galleries. 



1 82 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

purchaser was invited to enlarge bis purchase; if his 
change was, say thirty dollars, then it was the pur- 
chaser's turn to take the bulletin from bis pocket and 
see what he was getting. This erudition is not mine. 
I am repeating what Mr. James F. Hood, of this city, 
an eminent authority upon affairs financial, has told me. 

I asked an estimable citizen his recollection of Mr. 
Lenox and he replied that in 1849 Mr. Lenox from the 
platform called: " 'Master James Croggon'— that I 
came forth and received a silver medal about the size 
of the top of a tomato can. ' ' 

During Mr. Lenox's administration the public school 
census was twenty-three schools, thirty-three teachers 
and twenty-eight hundred pupils, August, 1851. He 
was deeply concerned with the education of the youth. 
He gave greater attention to the public school question 
than to any other. While an Alderman and of the com- 
mittee to draft a basis for the charter which was 
adopted, on his motion was inserted a provision for 
the ''establishment and support of common schools." 
And to quote from a public letter : ' ' Mr. Lenox was one 
of the few who surmounting the prejudices then exist- 
ing to free schools, and the sordid objections that our 
Corporation would be burdened with an intolerable 
expense, put forward every energy, until finally the 
pressure of public opinion forced upon the city authori- 
ties the adoption of measures of which we are now 
reaping the benefit." 

In those days were at the termination of the scho- 
lastic year public examinations followed by public 
presentation of prizes. Mr. Lenox has said in different 
words that prizes, presentations and parades— the- 
atrical flourishes — were for the purpose of creating and 
continuing interest on the part of the pupils and of the 
public, the best, for want of better, means available. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 183 

I am about to give extracts from the Daily National 
Intelligencer of the school doings ; meeting the. charge 
of unimportant detail, with the reply that as hardly 
anything concerns the people more than the public 
system of instruction, the history of it from the incep- 
tion is of corresponding value. 

The public school pupils had met, Tuesday, July 30, 
1850, in front of the City Hall to form for a procession 
to the Capitol. The weather was inclement. "The 
Mayor spoke encouragingly to the pupils, and, on put- 
ting the question whether the procession should be 
postponed indefinitely or until to-morrow, the latter 
was carried without a dissenting voice, and by an ac- 
clamation of juvenile spirits that made the City Hall 
and its lofty piazza reverberate with the glad sound." 
The weather of Wednesday was favorable. The pro- 
cession was attended by the trustees of the public 
schools, the secretary, the Mayor and the Boards of 
Aldermen and Common Council. The line extended 
from the City Hall to the Capitol or to even a greater 
distance. It was a rare spectacle, two thousand chil- 
dren, boys and girls, some in uniform, in well-arrange- 
ment, marching orderly and gracefully along the side 
pavement to the inspiring strains of the marine band 
and spread of rich banners while greeted by thousands 
of spectators who lined the avenue or occupied every 
vantage of door and window. 

Upon the platform with other notables was the Hon. 
Horace Mann, of Massachusetts, the accomplished 
advocate of the public school system. The invocation 
was by the Rev. Ralph R. Grurley, Chaplain of the 
House of Representatives. The prefatory remarks 
were by Mr. Lenox, the Mayor. The address was by 
the Hon. Joseph R. Chandler, M.C., of Philadelphia, 
educator and editor, whose earnestness and eloquence, 



184 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

satisfied all he was the right orator for the occasion. 
The selected singers from the girls in their silvery 
sweet voices added a patriotic touch with The Star 
Spangled Banner. 

The distribution of the honors was by the President, 
Mr. Fillmore. The Mayor read the names of the boys 
and girls to be honored, they mounted the platform, 
and had the high honor of receiving the medals from 
the President, "who, in placing them around the neck 
of each recipient, spoke to them all the while with kind- 
ness, affability, and encouragement." 

Of the school examinations only reference to the 
Fourth District School will be made. The male depart- 
ment, August, 1851, was examined in the presence of 
the Mayor and members of the Board of Common 
Council and Board of School Trustees. The exhibition 
the boys made of their progress was quite satisfactory, 
and, in some respects, especially that of acquaintance 
with the history of their country, they elicited hearty 
encomiums from the visitors. The female department 
was examined the day before. It was observed that 
were present his honor, the Mayor, members of the 
Boards of Aldermen and Common Council, and of the 
Board of School Trustees, and teachers of public and 
private schools, with a goodly array of visitors of both 
sexes. The exercises of the classes examined were 
really very gratifying and satisfactory. 

The pupils of the public schools of the First District, 
August 4, 1851, accompanied by their teachers and 
the sub-board, made a long procession with banners 
and martial music. After marching along the prin- 
cipal thoroughfares of the First Ward, the pretty 
pageant assembled in the Foundry Church. Walter 
Lenox, Esq., Mayor, introduced the speaker, Mr. Zal- 
mon Richards. Then the presentation of rewards by 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 185 

the Mayor, and then, by him, an address. The medals 
were silver of fancy pattern and the one hundred and 
thirty diplomas, beautifully executed, represented the 
illustrious Washington in the capacity of surveyor, 
standing with his implements on the spur of the Alle- 
ghany mountains. 

On the immediately succeeding days were similar ex- 
ercises in the second, third and fourth districts. Dis- 
tinguished citizens made well-considered and well- 
received addresses; and, his honor, the Mayor, con- 
ferred with courtliness the awards. 

In these times the pupils have a vacation of three 
months. In the Lenox times the vacation was less than 
a month, for, says the newspaper on Monday, Septem- 
ber 1, 1851 ; ' ' Today will the youth of our city, happy in 
their advantages beyond the lot of former times be 
called upon to resume the scholastic harness which 
usage and the reason of things permit them to drop 
during the enervating heat of the month that has 
passed. Today will hundreds— nay, thousands, of the 
men and women of the next age— turn their steps, 
satchel in hand, to the numerous retreats scattered all 
over our city, provided by private enterprise or public 
beneficence for their mental improvement and moral 
edification. ' ' 

The editorial from which the above is taken has: 
"We are glad to perceive that the crowning feature of 
our school system is not likely to be lost sight of ; we 
refer to the establishment of an efficient High School. 
This we have always looked upon as the key of the 
arch, the point to which all below it may and will look 
up. Whilst we would by no means counsel an unwise 
haste, we should equally deprecate a timid delay. ' ' All 
those interested in the public education were in accord 
about the need of a High School but its creation was 
delayed either wisely or timidly. 



1 86 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

The Daily National Intelligencer, May 21, 1852: 

"Yesterday, one of the sweetest days of the season, was a 
proud one for the Public Schools of this city. Much as our 
citizens had seen and known of their schools, and long and 
faithfully as some of them had labored to give enlargement 
and permanency to the system of public school instruction, 
they could hardly have been prepared for such a creditable 
display as was exhibited yesterday. 

"The various schools, numbering about thirty, embracing 
some twenty-five hundred pupils, met at the City Hall at 11 
o'clock A. M. when they were joined by the Mayor of the city, 
the Boards of Aldermen and Common Council, the Trustees 
of the Schools, &c, and attended by several bands of music, 
proceeded to the Capitol, for the purpose of presenting to 
Congress a petition asking its aid in behalf of the public 
schools of the city. 

"From the City Hall along the route of the procession our 
streets presented an animating spectacle. Hundreds upon 
hundreds of our citizens were out to witness and to welcome 
the pageant. Each of the schools, under the direction of its 
teacher, bore a standard or banner. 

"On arriving at the Capitol an immense multitude was 
found already upon the ground. The schools were formed 
upon the beautiful green on the east front of the Capitol, and 
occupied every part of the center, from the fountain to Wash- 
ington's statue. 

"A committee of one pupil from each school having been 
appointed to perform the office of presenting the petition, 
headed by a band of music, and attended by Mr. Lenox, the 
Mayor, as President of the Board of Trustees, and several 
other persons connected with the schools, they proceeded to 
the east portico, where the Hon. Mr. Hunter, of the Senate 
and the Hon. Mr. Chandler, of the House of Representatives, 
were present for the purpose of receiving the petition. 

"At this point the scene was beautiful beyond description. 
Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, Officers 
of the City Government, Trustees of the Schools, Representa- 
tives of the Press, citizens and strangers, all looked upon the 
scene with delight. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 187 

"After the performance of the national air by the band, 
Mr. Lenox addressed Messrs. Hunter and Chandler, and in- 
formed them that the children before them, as a committee 
from each of the public schools, were present to place in their 
hands a memorial asking the aid of Congress in behalf of the 
Public Schools of this City, and to request them to have the 
same presented to Congress. He said he would forbear to 
offer any remarks in favor of the objects of the memorial, as 
the children before them were both the witnesses and the ad- 
vocates in this noble cause." 

Of the various communications, the only extract is 
from an annual message: 

Mayor's Office, August 25, 1851. 

Although I feel very confident that the establishment of a 
high school would elevate the character of our public schools, 
and advance the standard of education generally in our city, 
I do not deem it proper, in view of other controlling consid- 
erations, to recommend it at this time. As I remarked in a 
former communication, "it is our duty to diffuse the elements 
of education among the many, before we attempt to confer 
upon a few the benefits of a higher standard." This great 
want of the many has not yet, as is testified to by the sub- 
boards of each district, been fully satisfied. There is also an 
absolute necessity for a new school-house in the first district, 
and for more comfortable furniture in several of the school- 
rooms. In view of the important influence that the school- 
room and its accommodations exercise over the health, mental 
improvement, and moral feelings of the pupils, I most earn- 
estly commend these objects to your immediate attention. 

Permit me to solicit from you an annual appropriation for 
a few years of $1,000, for the purposes of establishing a school 
library in each district. The suggestion requires no argu- 
ment to set forth or sustain its merits, but certainly it is suffi- 
cient to state the fact that there is no library in our city 
adapted to the mental and moral wants of the pupils of our 
schools, public or private. With the knowledge, then, of the 
serious injury we are daily inflicting upon the youth of our 



1 88 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

city and society in withholding indispensable sources of men- 
tal and moral support, let us promptly apply the remedy. 

Believing that the question of judicial reform properly 
belongs to the Corporate authorities, as the exponent of the 
wants of our people, and the medium of communication with 
Congress, I desire to present the subject before you as promi- 
nently as its importance demands. A formal argument may 
be well dispensed with, as the necessity of this measure is 
acknowledged and demanded by an almost unanimous public 
opinion, springing from no temporary impulses, but from the 
pressure of evils felt for years. The very origin and progres- 
sive history of our statute law could not fail to produce a 
most imperfect incongruous system, whose practical work- 
ings would be but faithful revelations of its character. Judge 
Butler, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in a report made 
to the Senate last winter says: "The great body of the 
statutes in force in this District are the old laws of Maryland, 
passed prior to the cession, and many of them nearly a cen- 
tury before the event. The legislation of Congress has not 
been directed by any system whatever, but has been irregular 
and impulsive, striking at some special point, without regard 
to collateral consequences." Mr. John Marbury,. of George- 
town, and of high authority upon this subject, in a letter to 
Judge Butler uses the following language: "Except so far 
as they have been changed by acts of Congress (and the in- 
stances are very few), the laws of this District are now what 
the laws of Maryland were more than fifty years past. The 
changes made by Congress, so far from improving, have made 
our code of law insufferable. Such changes have been made 
sometimes to answer particular objects, without regard to the 
interest of the people of the District. ' ' The language of Mr. 
Marbury, one of the oldest and worthiest members of the 
District bar, pronouncing the present system "unsufferable, " 
will not appear harsh to those of you having had experience, 
as jurors or suitors, of its ruinous delays and burdensome ex- 
penses. 

If, then, we are satisfied of the necessity of this measure, 
and that it is demanded by public opinion, let us earnestly 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 189 

present it to Congress upon its own broad merits; let us re- 
claim it from association with any particular plan or per- 
sonal controversy; let us not ask for or willingly receive any 
temporary or partial relief ; let us firmly insist, not only upon 
a revision and codification of our laws, but, if necessary, a 
change of the essential system itself. 

In concluding this communication, I cannot forbear to con- 
gratulate you upon the present condition, advantages, and 
future prospects of our city. It enjoys a degree of health 
which compares most favorably with the healthiest cities of 
the world. It is exempt in a great measure from a vicious 
and disorderly population; its police has been augmented in 
numbers and improved in efficiency. It possesses a well es- 
tablished system of public schools, which is largely distribut- 
ing its healthful currents throughout the community. The 
Smithsonian Institution is rapidly accomplishing the catholic 
conception of its noble founder, accumulating and dispensing, 
through lectures and other means, the richest treasures of 
science and learning. The presence of the high officers of the 
General Government and the annual assembling of Congress 
exercises a favorable influence upon its population, and con- 
tribute to give dignity and refinement to its society. The 
extent and value of the improvements by the Corporation 
within the last few years, as also those by private individuals, 
exceeding in elegance and cost those of any preceding year, 
manifest its general prosperity and onward progress. 

Mr. Lenox was a Whig. The Democratic party was 
dominant. The election for Mayor was on June 7, 
1852. Mr. Lenox received 1,496 votes ; John W. Maury, 
2,389. 

At the ratification meeting of the Whig candidate for 
President, Gen. Scott, June 30, 1852, Mr. Lenox pre- 
sided. His spirited address is reported in the party 
organ, faithfully parenthesized with "applause." 

Mr. Lenox and Miss Rachel Ludlow married in New 
York, January, 1855. Richard Wallach, Ashton White 
and other friends accompanied Mr. Lenox to the place 



19° Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

of ceremony. Mrs. Lenox died in New York, July, 
1856 ; the babe ten days later. Mrs. Lenox is buried in 
Greenwood Cemetery, New York. Her brother, Wil- 
liam H. Ludlow, was Speaker of the Legislative Assem- 
bly at Albany, N. Y. 

Mr. Lenox was not married sufficiently long to entitle 
himself to be embraced in that to-be-praised class, the 
married man. We must consign him to the other, the 
parasitic class, the bachelor. If he had been long mar- 
ried he might have been a better man, if that were pos- 
sible, coming under the chaste influence of woman. He 
was of that class that flits from flower to flower, buzzing 
merrily all the while. He was of the free and careless 
that know naught of the burdens and sorrows. Single 
blessedness or bachelorhood is a luxury and poetically 
has been compared to champagne and gasoline. It is 
righteously proposed to levy a tax on this species of 
selfishness without the bachelor can claim exemption 
by proving he supports a widowed mother or unwedded 
sisters. 

Lenox and Wallach, strong in friendship, were an- 
tagonistic in their attitude towards the rebellion. 
Lenox joined the Confederacy and was at Eichmond 
assistant to Eobert Ould, Agent of Exchange, C. S. A. 
Mr. Lenox came to Washington, 1863, to adjust the 
affairs of a deceased aunt. He was warned by Gen. 
Winfield Scott, as a friend, "If you do not stop talking 
I will have to arrest you." The warning did not in- 
fluence Mr. Lenox's freeness of speech. He was im- 
prisoned at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md., twenty 
months or until the termination of the war. 

Mr. Lenox was five feet eleven. His complexion was 
light, very fair. He was strong, physically. He had 
an impressive manner and was a good public speaker. 
He had not the superfluities of Mr. Wallach. He was 



Col. Hist. Soc, Vol. XX, Pl. X 




Peter Lenox. 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 191 

great for quelling disturbances and riots, and was not 
afraid to speak or to show himself. 

Miss Virginia Miller says: "Mr. Lenox was, I know, 
numbered one of the brilliant lawyers of Washington 
and was the friend and associate of my uncle, Col. 
Charles Lee Jones, together with Mr. Henry May and 
Mr. Barton Key. They were older men than my uncle 
but together they were the leaders of fashion and 
society. ' ' 

The contrasting severity and sympathy of Mr. Stan- 
ton, the Secretary of War, and of Mr. Lincoln, the 
President, has illustration in this incident. Mrs. 
Wheeler, the niece of Mr. Lenox, wore a path in her 
frequent calls upon Mr. Stanton, importuning him 
for a permit to see her uncle at Fort McHenry. Dis- 
couraged by repeated rebuff she called upon Mr. Lin- 
coln. He readily signed his card granting the permis- 
sion. The General (William Walton Morris) at the 
fort doubted the genuineness but gave the fair relatives 
of Mr. Lenox the benefit of the doubt and accorded them 
the height of courtesy. 9 

9 "Mt. Lake Park, Md., July 15, 1916. 

"Mr. ClarTc, 

"My aunt (Mrs. Julia Lenox Keep) lived to be 49; died in 1861, in 
war times. She died without will and the fortune was divided between 
my mother, Mrs. Wheeler and Walter Lenox. My aunt, Mrs. Wheeler, 
was very thorough and found that to attend to the interest properly she 
must be permitted to see Mr. Lenox, then a political prisoner at Fort 
McHenry. Sec. Stanton as you know was very stringent in his regu- 
lations but my aunt was fearless and pressed her case again and again. 
The Secretary himself was very positive. ' I tell you, Mrs. Wheeler, you 
cannot see Mr. Lenox. We will telegraph at any time to know his 
health &c. but we have strict orders not to allow any one to visit Mr. 
Lenox.' He was allowed no modern literature, so he called for Scott's 
commentaries on the bible. Well my aunt was not abashed after her 
failure but decided to try a bigger man than Stanton, to try Mr. Lin- 
coln. So I accompanied her — she made an impressive story to the 



19 2 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 

Mr. Lenox's health was impaired by the prison con- 
finement. He died Thursday, July 16, 1874, at 2.15 
A. M. The funeral services were held at the residence 
of his nephew, Thomas P. Simpson, 1005 E street, 
northwest. The Rev. Robert Wesley Black, of Wesley 
Chapel, conducted the services. He "paid a deserved 
compliment to the life and character of the deceased." 
The attendants were numerous, including members of 
the bar, friends and relatives. The pall-bearers were 
Messrs. Richard Wallach, Marshall Brown, George S. 
Gideon, Peter F. Bacon, Richard H. Laskey, Walter D. 
Davidge, Dr. J. W. Jayne and Dr. John M. Brodhead. 
The interment was in the Rock Creek Cemetery. A 
modest monument marks the site where dissolves to 
dust the mortal tenement. 

What I should have paid in the beginning, I now do 
at the end, my obligation for data, to Miss Margaret K. 
Simpson and Mr. Glenn Brown. 

The presentation of the portrait of Walter Lenox, the 
gift of Miss Margaret K. Simpson to the Lenox Build- 
ing, was made at the building, the afternoon of June 
13, 1916. All the pupils were assembled in the entrance 
hall. Mr. Henry P. Blair, the President of the Board 
of Education, directed the exercises and made an ad- 
dress. Miss Thelma Fryer, a pupil, released the flag 
which draped the portrait. Mr. Allen C. Clark told of 

President. He listened so quietly and called for a small gentleman's 
card and wrote 

" 'Permit these Ladies to visit Mr. Lenox. 

A. Lincoln.' 
"We made two or three visits, Gen. Morris was in command and was 
so agreeable. My aunt received from my uncle some important explana- 
tion and saved paying some judgments that were already paid. I hope 
I have not tired you but I want to thank you over again for your ex- 
treme kindness and your excellence in treating the history of Mr. Lenox. 

"Very kindly, 

"M. K. Simpson." 



Clark: Walter Lenox. 193 

the life of Mr. Lenox and presented the portrait. Mr. 
Henry F. Lowe, the principal, made the address of ac- 
ceptance and Mr. Hosmer M. Johnson, the Supervising 
Principal of the Ninth (School) Division, was also a 
speaker. The pupils made a demonstration of ap- 
proval, to which Miss Simpson made acknowledgment. 
Present were Mr. Glenn Brown, President of the Wash- 
ington Society of Pine Arts, and Mrs. Brown and the 
Eev. Cornelius S. Abbott. The children enlivened the 
ceremonies by singing patriotic airs. 



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